In just 48 hours to the governorship election, the candidates of the Labour Party, SDP, and some other political parties have made moves to step down for the governorship candidate of the PDP in Taraba, Kefas Agbu.

This, according to information, has created tension in the camp of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its candidate, Emmanuel Bwacha. They expressed shock at this information as it serves as a major boost for Kefas Agbu in the election.

Though they have not officially made their intentions known, the candidates of these parties are considering the move because Kefas Agbu has a brighter chance in the election and has the widest acceptance among every other candidate in the forthcoming election.

Kefas Agbu has been described by major stakeholders of the state as a son of the soil who deserves to be the next governor of the state for the sake of progress, consolidation and a more sophisticated economy. His manifesto also addresses the issues being faced by indigenes of the states.

On the other hand, the APC candidate, Emmanuel Bwacha has been accused of lobbying INEC officials to help him rig the election on Saturday since he has a slim chance at victory in the election.

Bwacha was once booed during one of his rallies in the southern part of Taraba for not helping the people when they needed him. He represented Taraba senatorial district at the national assembly but the people rejected him openly.

Due to this, He is planning to manipulate the INEC officials and disrupt the security system to create tension for his favour in the election.

The Nigeria police force and the INEC are hereby urged to pay close attention to Senator Emmanuel Bwacha during the election.

Written by Oluwatosin Alex

By Oluwatosin Alex

The Muslim communities in Taraba state have rejected the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Emmanuel Bwacha ahead of the governorship election set to hold on Saturday, 11th Of March, 2023.

Senator Emmanuel Bwacha visited communities in Jalingo, Yorro, Ardo-Kola, Karim Lamido, Lau and Zing to sell his candidacy and to also push the religion narrative but was vehemently resisted by a total rejection by the populace of the communities.

According to reports, Emmanuel Bwacha had gone to meet some of the Islamic scholars in these communities to seek their support and ‘bribed’ them with millions of naira to support his bid to become the next governor of the state.

It was however not revealed if the influential Islamic scholars accepted the largesse but an attempt to get the support of the populace failed totally.

This has added to the challenges Emmanuel Bwacha has faced since the beginning of his campaign. He currently doesn’t know if he is a contestant or not because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refused to include his name on the ballot. He was in court a few days ago to seek an order asking the electoral commission to include his name but no positive development has come out of it.

Several allegations have trailed senator Emmanuel Bwacha following his ambition. He has been accused of conniving with INEC officials to rig the election, making plans to manipulate the BVAS device, attempting to contaminate the security system during the election, and many more which he is yet to debunk.

Even though there is tension in almost every state in Nigeria due to the governorship election coming up on Saturday, 11th Of March, 2023, Taraba seems to be the only state without so much tension because the people technically know their next governor is the candidate of the PDP, Kefas Agbu.

This is no because he has the support of the incumbent or the PDP is the ruling party in the state but when we talk about wide acceptance by the people, Kefas Agbu seem to be the only one among other candidates who can boldly say he is widely accepted in the state by every tribe, religion, ethnic groups, sections in the state.

Kefas Agbu is not a novice in the nation’s development, he has contributed immensely to the development of the country right from his days as a military personnel in the Niger-Delta region of the country. He made successful efforts to restore peace to the region at a time when there was so much hostility around. Even in Taraba state, Kefas Agbu’s antecedents have placed him above every other candidate in the election.

For the people of Taraba, electing Kefas Agbu as the next governor of the state is more like handing over the state to someone who is part of them, one who has lived with them, one who has experience, one who knows where the shoe pinches and knows the solution the state needs to move forward. There are other candidates but none of them has the capacity of Kefas Agbu when we talk of nation building, positive contributions to the state, investment in the state, acceptance by the people, among a host of many others.

The wide acceptance Kefas Agbu has was evident in every of his rallies even in places that could be described as the most rural area in Taraba state. Among the candidates, Kefas Agbu is the only one that took his campaigns from the urban areas down to the most rural areas in the state, no one has ever done this successfully. How then won’t the people love him with everything within them?

Apart from his antecedents and wide acceptance, his biggest opponent in the election, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, the candidate of the APC is battling with the court to mandate INEC to include his name in the ballot paper. At the moment, the INEC has not recognized him as a contestant in the election following a Supreme Court order that sacked him as a candidate in the election. What this simply means is that the APC doesn’t have any candidate for the governorship election in Taraba state.

Although, the inclusion of Emmanuel Bwacha on the ballot paper will not make any difference to the bright chances of Kefas Agbu. Bwacha, being a senator representing Taraba South, has not spearheaded any significant development in his senatorial districts. He lacks the wide acceptance unlike Kefas Agbu so being on the ballot would even make it more interesting.

As earlier said, the people of Taraba already see their next governor in Kefas Agbu, the election will only be a formality and will be a landslide victory for the PDP.

By Oluwatosin Alex